Conventionally, input devices and game apparatuses operable by a player using a pointing device such as a touch panel or the like (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. 11-53115, 7-182092, and 2006-34516) have been developed. With the input device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-53115, the player uses a touch panel such that the cursor is moved in the moving direction and at the moving speed which are determined based on the direction and the distance of a pointed position with respect to the origin predetermined on the touch panel. With the input device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-182092, the player selects an operation target by a touch operation on the game screen of the touch panel and moves the operation target in correspondence with the vector amount representing the movement of the player's finger on the touch panel. The game program disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-34516 moves the origin, determined by touch input, as being attracted to the indicated point in accordance with the moving direction of the player's finger on the touch panel.
The devices and game programs as described above have the following problems. With the device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-53115, the origin is predetermined on the touch panel. Therefore, for example, in a game in which the operation target is an automobile, an airplane or the like, even though the player wishes to make the object proceed straight, the proceeding direction is shifted if the input position is slightly offset from the origin. In addition, the origin cannot be felt by the finger. Therefore, the player needs to perform the operation while visually checking the position of the origin. This reduces the operability in an application such as a game which requires a quick operation. The player cannot fully enjoy the game.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-182092 discloses a system by which an object which is touched and thus selected is moved on the game screen in correspondence with the vector representing the movement of the player's finger. Unless the player's finger moves, no information is input. In order to move an object, the player needs to keep on moving his/her finger, which may reduce the operability in certain types of games.
With the device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-34516, in a game in which the operation target is an automobile, an airplane or the like, when the player wishes to perform an operation of moving the object by a large amount, for example, of rapidly turning the steering wheel to change the proceeding direction to the right, the player needs to first touch a central position of the touch panel and then largely moves his/her finger rightward. This reduces the operability in certain types of games.
Therefore, a feature of certain exemplary embodiments is to provide an object processing apparatus with a higher operability for improving the operation responsiveness when processing an object in a virtual space by indicating a position in an operation region, and a storage medium having stored thereon an object processing program for executing such processing.
Certain exemplary embodiments herein have the following features to attain the feature mentioned above. The reference numerals, additional explanations and the like in parentheses in this section of the specification indicate the correspondence with certain exemplary embodiments described later for easier understanding and are not intended to be limiting in any way.
A first aspect of the certain exemplary embodiments is directed to an object processing apparatus (10) for executing processing on an object (101) in a virtual space based on an indicated coordinate set corresponding to a position in an operation region (102) indicated by a player (a point on the operation region 102 indicated by the stylus pen 17). The object processing apparatus comprises an indicated coordinate set detection section (31), an indicated coordinate set determination section (31), a reference coordinate set setting section (31), and an operation control section (31). The operation region is defined as being divided into at least two types of areas of a first area and a second area bordering on the first area. The indicated coordinate set detection section detects the indicated coordinate set. The indicated coordinate set determination section determines whether the indicated coordinate set is encompassed in the first area or the second area. When the indicated coordinate set is determined to be encompassed in the first area, the reference coordinate set setting section sets the indicated coordinate set as a reference coordinate set, and when the indicated coordinate set is determined to be encompassed in the second area, the reference coordinate set setting section sets a predetermined coordinate set closer to the first area than the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set. The operation control section controls an operation on the object in the virtual space based on a positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the operation control section controls an operation on the object based on at least one of a direction and a distance both determined by the positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a third aspect based on the second aspect, the operation control section controls a moving direction of the object to be a direction determined by the positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a fourth aspect based on the second aspect, the operation control section controls a moving speed of the object based on a moving speed in accordance with the distance determined by the positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a fifth aspect based on the first aspect, when the indicated coordinate set is determined to be encompassed in the second area, the reference coordinate set setting section sets a coordinate set among coordinate sets on a border between the first area and the second area as the reference coordinate set.
In a sixth aspect based on the fifth aspect, the reference coordinate set setting section sets a coordinate set among the coordinate sets on the border which is closest to the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set.
In a seventh aspect based on the first aspect, the first area encompasses a central area of the operation region.
In an eighth aspect based on the first aspect, in the case where indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection section as time passes after the reference coordinate set is set by the reference coordinate set setting section, the reference coordinate set setting section sets a reference coordinate set which is set at the start of the time duration in which the indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected as a new reference coordinate set, regardless of the determination result by the indicated coordinate set determination section.
In a ninth aspect based on the first aspect, in the case where indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection section as time passes after the reference coordinate set is set by the reference coordinate set setting section, when the indicated coordinate set is encompassed in the first area, the reference coordinate set setting section does not change the position of the reference coordinate set, and when the indicated coordinate set is encompassed in the second area, the reference coordinate set setting section sets a predetermined coordinate set closer to the first area than the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set.
In a tenth aspect based on the ninth aspect, the operation region is defined as including a third area encompassing the first area. In the case where indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection section as time passes after the reference coordinate set is set by the reference coordinate set setting section, the indicated coordinate set determination section further determines whether or not the indicated coordinate set has gone outside the third area. When the indicated coordinate set is determined not to have gone outside the third area, the reference coordinate set setting section does not change the position of the reference coordinate set, and when the indicated coordinate set is determined to have gone outside the third area, the reference coordinate set setting section sets the predetermined coordinate set closer to the first area than the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set.
In an eleventh aspect based on the first aspect, the second area is defined as encompassing a fourth area bordering on the first area. The object processing apparatus further comprises a reference coordinate set moving section (31) for, when the reference coordinate set is encompassed in the fourth area and indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection section as time passes, changing the position of the reference coordinate set such that the reference coordinate set becomes gradually closer toward the center of the operation region as time passes.
A twelfth aspect of the certain exemplary embodiments is directed to a storage medium having stored thereon an object processing program executable by a computer of an object processing apparatus for executing processing on an object in a virtual space based on an indicated coordinate set corresponding to a position in an operation region indicated by a player. The object processing program causes the computer to execute an indicated coordinate set detection step (S21, S31), an indicated coordinate set determination step (S22, S32), a reference coordinate set setting step (S24, S26, S34, S36), and an operation control step (S10). The operation region is defined as being divided into at least two types of areas of a first area and a second area bordering on the first area. The indicated coordinate set detection step detects the indicated coordinate set. The indicated coordinate set determination step determines whether the indicated coordinate set is encompassed in the first area or the second area. When the indicated coordinate set is determined to be encompassed in the first area, the reference coordinate set setting step sets the indicated coordinate set as a reference coordinate set, and when the indicated coordinate set is determined to be encompassed in the second area, the reference coordinate set setting step sets a predetermined coordinate set closer to the first area than the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set. The operation control step controls an operation on the object in the virtual space based on a positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a thirteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the operation control step controls an operation on the object based on at least one of a direction and a distance both determined by the positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a fourteenth aspect based on the thirteenth aspect, the operation control step controls a moving direction of the object to be a direction determined by the positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a fifteenth aspect based on the thirteenth aspect, the operation control step controls a moving speed of the object based on a moving speed in accordance with the distance determined by the positional relationship between the reference coordinate set and the indicated coordinate set.
In a sixteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, when the indicated coordinate set is determined to be encompassed in the second area, the reference coordinate set setting step sets a coordinate set among coordinate sets on a border between the first area and the second area as the reference coordinate set.
In a seventeenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the reference coordinate set setting step sets a coordinate set among the coordinate sets on the border which is closest to the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set.
In an eighteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the first area encompasses a central area of the operation region.
In a nineteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, in the case where indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection step as time passes after the reference coordinate set is set by the reference coordinate set setting step, the reference coordinate set setting step sets a reference coordinate set which is set at the start of the time duration in which the indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected as a new reference coordinate set, regardless of the determination result by the indicated coordinate set determination step.
In a twentieth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, in the case where indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection step as time passes after the reference coordinate set is set by the reference coordinate set setting step, when the indicated coordinate set is encompassed in the first area, the reference coordinate set setting step does not change the position of the reference coordinate set, and when the indicated coordinate set is encompassed in the second area, the reference coordinate set setting step sets a predetermined coordinate set closer to the first area than the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set.
In a twenty-first aspect based on the twentieth aspect, the operation region is defined as including a third area encompassing the first area. In the case where indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection step as time passes after the reference coordinate set is set by the reference coordinate set setting step, the indicated coordinate set determination step further determines whether or not the indicated coordinate set has gone outside the third area. When the indicated coordinate is determined not to have gone outside the third area, the reference coordinate set setting step does not change the position of the reference coordinate set, and when the indicated coordinate set is determined to have gone outside the third area, the reference coordinate set setting step sets the predetermined coordinate set closer to the first area than the indicated coordinate set as the reference coordinate set.
In a twenty-second aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the second area is defined as encompassing a fourth area bordering on the first area. The object processing program causes the computer to further execute a reference coordinate set moving step (S167, S207) of, when the reference coordinate set is encompassed in the fourth area and indicated coordinate sets are continuously detected by the indicated coordinate set detection step as time passes, changing the position of the reference coordinate set such that the reference coordinate set becomes gradually closer toward the center of the operation region as time passes.
According to the first aspect, an operation result, which would be obtained when the indicated position is moved by a certain distance, can be obtained merely by indicating a position in the second area. When a position in the first area is indicated, an input result providing a moving amount of 0 can be obtained. When, for example, moving an object in accordance with the input result, an operation of moving the object by a large amount can be easily performed merely by indicating a position in the second area. In the first area, an input result providing a moving amount of 0 can be obtained. Therefore, even when the coordinate set information is slightly shifted due to the instability of the position of the hand or the like, such a shift can be ignored. This is a stark difference from the case where the origin is fixed to a predetermined point in the operation region. According to the first aspect, an operation of moving an object by a large amount and an operation of providing a moving amount of 0 can be both performed in an easy and intuitive manner, and thus the operability is improved.
According to the second through fourth aspects, the player can operate an object in an intuitive manner with a high operability.
According to the fifth aspect, substantially the same effects as those of the first aspect are provided.
According to the sixth aspect, the origin is set on the border closest to the input coordinate set. When, for example, performing an operation of returning a steering wheel rightward which had once been turned leftward, the amount of moving the indicated position in the opposite direction can be reduced. The operation responsiveness can be improved and the operability is enhanced.
According to the seventh aspect, the first area is in a central area. Thus, the operation can be performed in a manner closely matched to the sense of humans.
According to the eighth aspect, the reference coordinate set, once determined, is not changed in the subsequent continuous operation. Therefore, an operation can be performed in a relative coordinate system centering on the reference coordinate set, regardless of the reference position in the absolute coordinate system representing the operation region. Thus, the operation is performed in a manner closely matched to the sense of humans.
According to the ninth aspect, when the indicated position is in the first area, the reference coordinate set is not moved. Even when the indicated position is slightly shifted, such a shift can be ignored. Thus, a so-called “play” is provided. By contrast, when performing an operation of moving an object in the opposite direction by a large amount, the moving amount of the indicated position can be reduced. Thus, the operability is improved.
According to the tenth aspect, when the indicated position is in the third area, the reference coordinate set is not moved. Therefore, the so-called “play” is provided like in the ninth aspect. By contrast, when performing an operation of moving an object in the opposite direction by a large amount, the moving amount of the indicated position can be reduced. Thus, the operability is improved.
According to the eleventh aspect, the reference coordinate set is moved as time passes. Even when the player indicates a position off the center of the operation region, the reference coordinate set can be gradually moved toward the center. As a result, as time passes, the operation is gradually matched to the sense of humans. Thus, the operability is further improved.
A storage medium having stored thereon an object processing program according to certain exemplary embodiments provides substantially the same effects as the above-described effects of the game apparatus according to certain exemplary embodiments.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.